Industrial development body Forfas has said the number of people employed in companies backed by its agencies fell by 1,000 last year.
Full-time employment in companies under the remit of IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Shannon Development and Udaras na Gaeltachta came to 298,000. 25,000 new jobs were created but 26,000 were lost. The net loss of 1,000 compared with an average of 6,000 losses in the previous three years.
In its annual report, Forfas said State spending on research and development grew by 23% last year to €591m, while spending on science and technology rose by nearly 10% to €2 billion.
Forfas said the manufacturing sector experienced a fall-off in employment but more modern sectors with strong export bases enjoyed increases.
Chief executive Martin Cronin the agencies were increasingly targeting their supports at firms who showed commitment to innovation in products and services. But he warned that with price levels well above the euro average, and a tight labour market, preserving a competitive cost environment had to remain the priority.
